Custody & Kidnapping

Although I am not specifically familiar with [STATE] laws, the answer to this may depend on the circumstances under which the case was dropped. Usually when a case is dismissed because someone fails to show up, the dismissal papers may indicate whether it was dismissed “without prejudice,” which means that the person can generally re-file or “with prejudice,” which means that it may be very difficult for the person to re-file the same custody petition. I can’t say what the specific standards are in your state. (Here is one possible example of why a case may be dismissed “with prejudice:” If a case goes on for a long-time and the judge was about to make a decision on custody and then the petitioner dropped the case because he thought he was going to lose. The judge may have dismissed the case “with prejudice” to prevent the person from re-filing it and having to go through the same court process all over.)

Again, I am not sure if these are the exact terms used in [YOUR STATE] or not – if you want to be certain, you can talk to a lawyer in [STATE] to ask if these are the two ways that cases are dropped. Also, the lawyer may be able to help you figure out which way the petition was dismissed in your case. Here is a link to free and paid lawyers: [LINK]

[INCLUDE THIS IF THE OTHER PARENT IS THE ONE WHO FILED, DROPPED, AND IS RE-FILING: If the other parent is permitted to re-file, you may want to ask an attorney if you should bring up the fact in court that he previously filed and dropped his case and ask that the new petition be dismissed – or maybe the attorney may say that you may be able to ask the judge to order that if he drops the case again, that he cannot re-file. I don’t know if the judge would do this but you may decide to ask an attorney about it.]